Storm Heart- Klaroline
by melissah87
Summary: A little after the storm season starts, Caroline joins her brothers on their annual tornado chase. This year marks the beginning of a partnership between Klaus and his family to gather as much scientific data as possible, while also capturing the images and documenting these storms. The methods don't always mesh... until they do. Extended summary inside. (KlausxCaroline)
1. Chapter 1

**Extended Summary**

Caroline has finally graduated college and joins her brother's, Stefan and Damon, on her first official tornado chase. Although being a certified meteorologist and a licensed paramedic, her methods are mostly ruled by instinct. Not everyone agrees with her way of thinking until she gets them results starting on their first day out in the field. The Mikaelsons manage to warm up to the idea of having her around, except for Klaus who finds her distracting and too risky for his family and coworkers to follow; until he learns exactly why she's like that. They go through towns capturing footage and data of the tornados they chase and stick around long enough to help look for survivors; with a lot of them helping the wounded the tornados leave in their wake. When 3 major systems set on a path to collide with a place linked to the Salvatore past, they all go in with a battle plan as the siblings face one of the hardest days of their past; ready to leave their ghosts in the pasts.

 **Chapter 1**

Caroline adjusted the radio to play her mp3 player as she waited for the pump to finish filling up the truck so she could fill her bike up next. Her best friend Bonnie had run inside to get them some more snacks to stock up for the road; they wouldn't have time to stop on a chase. As she finished setting up the radio she heard the click of the pump and moved to climb in the truck bed to fill her bike. She saw Bonnie speaking to the gas attendant through the window and rolled her eyes; the downside to chasing the storms was always getting caught up with people wanting to talk when they didn't have the time. She waited patiently as her bike finished filling up, but when she had the gas nozzle back in its designated slot she rushed inside to finish paying for the gas and food. Bonnie looked at her relieved as she walked up to the register and paid; proceeding to drag Bonnie out of the store with her with a short apology to the attendant.

 _"Thanks Care… he was beginning to get on my nerves."_ Bonnie stated with a sigh as they moved to enter the truck.

 _"No problem Bon-Bon… we need to get moving; we still have about 2 more hours before we reach them."_ Caroline replied as she started the truck up and pulled away from their pit stop with the music already playing. From the look on Bonnie's face she could tell her friend knew where her mind was from the music choice. She couldn't help it, and she refused to be sorry for it, but storms were an important part of her life; she felt tuned into them. It didn't make it better that she hadn't seen her brothers in months so she could finish up classes in preparation for the chase. Now that she had her degrees she could be an official member of the team and also help with the aftermath storms always left behind; the only thing she hated about it would be that they couldn't always save everyone. Fixing her expression she studied the sky as she drove while Bonnie started pulling up the forecast to get an idea for the best route to meet up with the guys; needless to say, it would still be a long drive left to make.

 ** _Stefan POV…_**

He was watching the sky after finishing setting up all the equipment he thought they would need soon. He was glad they had grouped together a better team than the last year; finding old friends and casting out the troublemakers. He still couldn't get over how far they had come in the past couple of weeks while waiting on Caroline to finish up her classes and he knew her and Bonnie joining would likely cause a bit of a stir initially, but he felt it would be an unforgettable season. He saw his brother talking on the phone and shook his head; no doubt he was talking to his wife since he knew Elena was always worried when they went on a chase. It didn't help that Elena and Damon had just found out a couple months earlier that they were expecting their first child together; stress wasn't good on a baby, nor was being distracted while on a chase.

So instead of crowding and reminding his brother for the millionth time that he needed to focus he walked over to where Klaus and Kol were watching the monitors. Those 2 working together really cracked him up; they cared about each other in regards to being family but they drove each other crazy to the point everyone was constantly breaking up "their little spats". He briefly wondered how everyone would take the news of Caroline and Bonnie joining; being as him and Damon were currently the only ones that knew so far. They shouldn't mind seeing their team had consisted of family themselves; including Elijah's wife. It also helped that their brother Finn and his wife Sage worked back in the labs leading some of the research they would be experimenting on out in the field this season. He was so focused on his thoughts he didn't notice he was being spoken to until he felt his shoulder shook.

 _"What's clouding your mind?"_ Kol asked amused as Klaus rolled his eyes and continued watching the simulation they had made to predict where the storm they were tracking would go. _"Do you get it? "Clouding"? Because we chase storms… does this make sense to you?"_ Kol continued until Klaus reached over and smacked the back of his head.

 _"Can you not be serious Kol?"_ Klaus asked as he finally brought his attention away from the screen completely.

 _"I am serious… but there's no harm in coming up with a few work-related jokes to ease the tension. Obviously something is on his mind and it doesn't look like it has to do with the system we're tracking."_ Kol explained himself while Klaus sighed and ran a hand through his hair; obviously holding himself back from further continuing since it was still early in the day.

 _"I'm just thinking guys… no need for violence."_ Stefan spoke up to break them up before they could get started again; clearly trying to aid in stopping a "spat" before it started too. _"But there is something I need to talk to all of you about and I don't know what you all will think about it."_ Stefan spoke slowly as he hid his nervousness. The Mikaelsons had known Stefan and Damon in college, but none of them had met Caroline or knew much about her beyond the point that she was their sister. Having her and Bonnie coming into the fold would likely lead to a million questions he would have to answer; especially since they didn't know she had majored in this field or the fact she had chased since she was little.

 _"What is it mate?"_ Klaus asked with a suspicious face; damn that man's paranoia.

 _"It's nothing bad Klaus… it's just a little bit of a surprise."_ Stefan said calmly as he watched his friend cross his arms with a waiting expression plastered across his face. _"Do y'all remember back when me and Damon mentioned our sister in college?"_ He asked as he watched the confusion take over their faces as they glanced at each other before looking back at him. _"Well she's coming to join the team this season since she graduated and she's bringing her friend with her; they both specialized in meteorology and my sister doubled so she's also a licensed paramedic."_

 _"Why are we just hearing about this?"_ Klaus asked and Stefan could tell he was aggravated with him.

 _"Because the season started 2 weeks ago and she still had a week left to finish everything up at school. After that she had to help her friend Bonnie finish up as well as get everything they needed for this season's chase. Normally Caroline would have already joined us but with graduation and everything she was delayed… it's really not a big deal; it isn't her first chase."_ He rambled until he felt Kol shake him back to being quiet.

 _"I'm sure it won't be a problem. Besides… she or her little friend might be hot; I'm in."_ Kol responded with a grin and Stefan just shook his head as he let out a sigh in frustration; Caroline was his baby sister, but they were practically raised with Bonnie's family and she was like a little sister too.

 _"Off limits Kol… this is your only warning. Care is my sister and Bonnie is like a sister to me so I don't want any problems started with you and them."_ Stefan warned but then chuckled as he thought more about it. _"Actually… go ahead and try; maybe you'll learn a lesson or two with them."_

 _"What's that supposed to mean?"_ Kol huffed but Stefan could tell he was genuinely curious about his remark.

 _"They were raised with me and Damon… they can handle themselves without my help."_ Stefan replied with a laugh and turned to walk away. Glancing back he saw Kol drift away in thought and Klaus clench his jaw. He knew his friend was a little upset with the news, but he would likely come around in his opinion; there wasn't anyone he knew could resist being friends with his sister.

 ** _Hours later…_**

The crew was finally finished setting up their home base for the storm that was threatening to pass through. The sky had darkened considerably and had taken on a greenish tint; they all knew it was almost time. Stefan and Damon double-checked all the vehicles to make sure they were good to roll out while the Mikaelsons double-checked the equipment and made sure everything had begun recording. Stefan kept trying to call Caroline but she hadn't answered in a while so he began to worry, but soon his nerves settles as he saw her truck pull into their site with the radio blaring. He looked around and saw most of the Mikaelsons look confused while Kol looked giddy and Klaus looked upset; he didn't really care as he ran up to the truck.

Caroline stepped out and immediately jumped in her brother's arms as he twirled her around. He set her down and she immediately ran to the back of the truck to start unchaining her bike as she glanced up at the sky. Bonnie had come around the truck and gave him a side hug before following Caroline to release her own bike. Once Stefan had helped the girls get their bikes out they automatically went into motion to gear up and set everything to record in different POVs. Caroline quickly told Bonnie to hang back before she took off, starting in a wheelie, and then speeding away. When everyone starting gathering to figure out she was already leaving and had geared up, Stefan quickly told them that Caroline was like their own warning system; she could feel them forming and knew when to leave. It wasn't a detailed explanation, but he knew he didn't have time nor the want to explain further at the moment since it would be like giving away Caroline's life story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Caroline raced ahead as she felt the pressure in the air changing and the sky became darker; she knew the storm would form faster than everyone else was expecting since they hadn't even looked like they had made a move to leave yet. Caroline hadn't missed the different looks she had gotten from the new group they were working with this year but she pushed them from her mind as the signs of an impending tornado became clearer and clearer for her. She looked behind her to see Bonnie staying back as she had instructed her and twisted the nozzle to speed up even further. She told Bonnie through her headset to get parked and strapped down on her signal before she took her bike off road and started cutting across the open fields. When she felt the shiver run up her spine she knew she was close to where she would need to be and gave Bonnie the signal near the edge of a small patch of forest with a culvert close by that could be used if needed.

When she was sure Bonnie was in the safest place with a good view she moved into position and chained her bike to the strongest structure she could find. She ran across the field and double-checked all her cameras and instruments to make sure everything was running and recording before securing her hair. As soon as she was finished she heard the familiar roar ring out that was followed quickly by sirens to warn the people nearby that a tornado had touched down. She watched as the funnel descended to the ground a couple miles in front of her and she closed her eyes to focus on her instincts. Feeling she was in the best spot she changed her radio channel and told her brothers where she was so they could get close enough for the rest of the team to collect data and video; not without reminding them to stay back since they couldn't feel the storm like she could. She changed her channel back and radioed Bonnie to tell her to secure herself as she watched the funnel move closer.

A lot of people might describe the span of a tornado traveling as quick but deadly; which would be accurate. However, every one that she had watched felt like it was in slow motion and not once had she been touched or harmed aside from getting scraped when she fell or ran into some debris; at least not since she was a small child. She pushed the memory from her mind that always haunted her sleep and focused on the incoming funnel. She ranged it no more than an F2, and it was barely that in her opinion but it could still cause damage and hurt someone in its path. She heard her brothers and the crew pull up in the distance but the tornado was already too close for them to intercept so she stood her ground and prepared herself for the next part. When it was so close her hair was almost pulled down she bent her knees and let her back hit the ground; giving her the perfect shots from both her headcam and the camera strapped around her chest. She marveled at the beautiful but deadly force of nature that was straight over her and would barely miss her.

It hadn't been down long so it wasn't completely full of dirt and debris yet, leaving the whitish color of the funnel almost the same as the cloud it had descended from. She could feel the suction pulling at the instruments and videos but the angle of her body had left her flat without airflow under her for safety. When it started to pass her by she rose and twisted to get a shot of it moving away from her before she ran to her bike and took off in pursuit. She could see Bonnie going through the same routine so she wouldn't lose sight of her, but she wanted to try to get ahead of it again. Caroline revved her bike up and took off through the small patch of forest to try and get around it again. She knew she would be in luck since it would be turning northeast of its position in a few minutes and she was able to get far enough east before turning north to intercept again. What she didn't count on was road construction; there were markers to show the road and a bridge would be getting worked on. She knew there was a chance she would be able to cross, despite the warning signs, but her brothers would likely skin her alive if they figured out what she was doing.

Caroline proceeded forward to access the situation before she would make a final decision and saw that everything was intact; it was just closed for preparation. Doing a mental victory dance she weaved around the signs and barrels blocking her entry and sped across the bridge. She could see the river running below had picked up in flow but she ignored it so she could keep focused on her goal. When she finally made it to her targeted area it was too late to get into a close position so she got as close as she could on bike before walking towards the retreating funnel. She could see through parts of the tornado and the pressure had changed again so she knew it would be dissipating soon. Everyone else caught up as she was standing in the open area and the last traces disappeared. She ran back to her bike to start the next part of the day; finding anybody that had gotten caught in the tornado.

 ** _Klaus POV…_**

 _"Your sister is a bloody lunatic."_ Klaus seethed towards the Salvatore brothers. He couldn't believe how reckless and irresponsible the girl was; this wasn't a game. He could see Stefan just shake his head as Damon glared in his direction but he wasn't backing down. _"This field isn't a joke and we don't have time for someone to be messing around and trying to show off."_

 _"You watch your mouth… she knows what she's doing; she's been chasing these all of her life."_ Stefan warned him as the vehicle came to a stop and an angry Stefan turned in his seat to face him. He hadn't ever seen Stefan react like that about anything or anyone, but he couldn't blame him much; he would do the same regarding Rebekah. However, he believed they let their sister get away with everything and the girl was no more than a spoilt little brat that was trying to get 15 minutes of fame from her brothers' careers. _"Literally… all her life."_ Stefan finished before he started driving again.

 _"Then you better figure out a way to tame her down and actually work as part of the group instead of riding off on her own and disregarding everyone's safety; including her own."_ Klaus spat at the brothers and thought for a moment that Stefan would stop the SUV again or Damon was about to punch him, but Stefan threw his arm over Damon's arm and shook his head in signal to not react. Klaus sat back in his seat as he closed his laptop and tossed it next to him. The data suggested the storm wouldn't last long anyway and at the rate they were driving they wouldn't make it before it ended.

Klaus had to bite his tongue when they pulled into the next area and saw Caroline just standing there and watching the tornado disappearing. He huffed loudly to let the brothers know his disappointment before he spotted the blonde running towards her bike again. He quickly checked over his data to make sure there were no more storms nearby with the potential to form a funnel cloud before he saw Stefan putting the car back in drive and following after her. He grit his teeth in frustration as he figured they would now be on a wild goose chase because her so-called "instincts" told her to go somewhere new for another storm; he couldn't wait to throw it in her face later. It wasn't long in the silent car before he realized that they were following the trail of destruction from the tornado they had just chased and he couldn't be for sure what she was up to; they needed to hit the road to chase the next one.

Klaus was shocked into silence when they came across some cars in the road with Caroline's bike. Had she wrecked? Did she cause the wreck? His answers were given to him moments later when she came out from behind one of the cars with a little boy in her arms and had the brothers bring out a few foldable stretchers to get the others out of the cars. There were a couple other people come into view and Klaus walked over to them to see if they needed help and to ask for sure what happened since he didn't want to look like an idiot himself if she hadn't caused the wreck and he called her out on it. Sure enough, all the cars in the group had been blind-sighted by the tornado and they hadn't been able to get out of the way. He could see an ambulance coming in the distance as he heard Caroline shout for Stefan to meet them and let them know they had one patient reporting pain in the neck while two had pain in the legs, and four reporting pain in the arm; including the little boy she had been cradling that was now with Bonnie.

When the paramedics rolled their stretchers up Caroline flashed a paper towards them and Klaus saw them nod in return before they started loading the more seriously injured into the ambulance first and calling for back-up. Damon stepped in with his own paper and offered to help transport the less critical ones in one of the trucks in their convoy. Klaus watched Caroline hook up an IV without effort before running back to her bike and saying she was going to look to see if others had been caught in the path but she would meet them at the hospital. Klaus felt like he lost his argument with the brothers about her behavior when he saw her responding to the injured, but he still didn't like her methods regarding the tornado; she would need to be stopped or settled down to avoid anyone on the team getting hurt. He wasn't surprised when Kol offered to follow her and Bonnie with another truck in case they needed it; his brother would chase any women he came across. That was another thing unsettling about Caroline; her looks would be distracting and adding that with a reckless nature was a disaster waiting to happen that would be worse than the tornados in his mind.

 ** _Caroline POV…_**

Caroline felt her emotions swirling around inside of her but she kept them suppressed so she could focus on searching for anyone else that would need help. She could sense the team members staring at her at various times and it was bugging her; she might seem crazy or like an adrenaline junkie but she knew inside she wasn't. She got onto her bike quickly and took off to continue following the destruction path with her eyes scanning around to make sure she didn't miss anyone. There were a couple homes that had sustained damage but she could see people walking around and only slowed to see if anyone needed help before moving on. Luckily, she didn't find anyone else with major injuries and was able to patch up a few cuts and instruct them to go to the hospital for stitches and something to prevent infection.

After tending to everyone that had been caught in the path of the tornado she drove back towards her truck and loaded her bike back in; grateful that Stefan had told her to build in a folding ramp in case she was by herself. Bonnie pulled in soon after and she helped load her bike into the truck before they took off to the hospital to meet with the rest of the team. Bonnie told her that Kol had taken a few to the hospital that couldn't use their own transportation and that Damon had called to tell her that they were waiting on them before they would hit the road again. Caroline had already removed all of the cameras and instruments that she had strapped to her earlier and asked Bonnie to go ahead and save everything to their computers. By the time Caroline pulled up next to Stefan and Damon's SUV, Bonnie had already saved and sent all the footage and date to Damon's and Stefan's emails; she would have sent them to the rest of the team but didn't have their emails and said the guys would probably forward it all anyway.

Caroline walked into the emergency room with determination; she wanted to make sure there wasn't any help needed before they left. Caroline showed her training certificate at the reception area and asked if anyone needed assistance; hearing that all the patients were sorted and were being cared for made her breathe in relief. She asked for their whereabouts and the receptionist looked around before telling her which way to go. Caroline walked back into the treatment area and saw the little boy that she had ended up having to cut out of his car seat. The doctor had his little arm bandaged and in a sling with an x-ray picture hanging up. She could see a fracture running through near his elbow and her heart tugged in her chest for the little guy. She saw his parents in the beds next to him with the mother's legs in bandages with a crutch and the father with the neck collar still in place from earlier. When the mother saw her she stood and Caroline moved quickly to get her to sit back down so she wouldn't injure herself further.

The mother thanked her for helping them, but especially for getting her child out of the car; Caroline replying that she was just glad she had gotten there and that it hadn't been worse. She had seen how bad things could get and how a lot of time families could be torn apart by natural disasters, but she was glad that it wasn't the case today. She spent a couple more minutes with the little boy talking about how strong and brave he was before excusing herself to find her brothers. When she found them she could see them both looked relieved before she motioned for them it was time to go. They walked with her back outside and quickly introduced her and Bonnie to the rest of the team; they all knew they could get better introduced later when they didn't have to hit the road and find a hotel for the night. Caroline didn't know what it was for sure, but she could almost guarantee she saw a couple of people in the team look at her disdainfully before they looked away or got into their cars; the worst look coming from the one her brother called Klaus.

Caroline could feel some of her old insecurities coming to surface as she followed behind her brothers' SUV. The nagging feeling hadn't disappeared yet and it revolved around what the members of the team thought of her. She knew there would always be differences in opinion and how they would chase, but she felt like it would be more than she had originally expected. In all reality, the only people that seemed to want her there were her brothers and Bonnie. She hoped it wouldn't cause any conflict, but she had a plan if it did. She knew her brothers would defend her position on the team but she didn't want them to; if it came down to it then she would leave the group and send the data and video she collected back to her brothers and the lab. Bonnie would likely follow her but the group may not send her away since she didn't get closer than what was safe; even being friends with her couldn't make them argue that Bonnie hadn't followed all safety procedures to the maximum. Caroline was a little more daring regarding these situations, but only because she could tell if she was safe or not; she never could explain how she knew where to go or how close to get without someone thinking she was just crazy.

Once they all had found a decent motel and all their rooms were booked, Caroline started analyzing the data that Bonnie had organized earlier. Bonnie brought coffee from home to brew in the hotel coffee pots and Caroline inhaled the scent with a watering mouth and a pounding headache. Once she was refueled she finished going over the data and looking at the weather forecast to determine which way would be best to go to over the next few days. By the time she was done she noticed Bonnie had already fallen asleep in her bed so she moved everything to the table to make it easy to grab and go for morning and set the coffee pot to start brewing at 6 the next morning. After scheduling a wake-up call and setting multiple alarms on her phone (can't blame a girl for hating mornings) she finally laid down to pursue sleep; even if her dreams always made her toss and turn most nights.


End file.
